Saturna Notes

Accommodation Strait of Georgia Page 12 What’s On? Page 5 Every Second Thursday & Online ‘24/7’ at islandtides.com Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement Nº 40020421 Volume 18 Number 12 Your Coastal Community Newspaper June 29, 2006 Tide tables 2 P3s 2 Saturna notes 3 Letters 4 Letterpress 6 Book-lets 7 Bulletin Board 11 Landowners angry over mining claim staking, say Greens On a three-week road tour of BC, Green Party leader Adriane Carr has uncovered province-wide anger with the BC Liberals for encouraging claim staking on private lands, stripping away people’s property rights. Private properties are being staked for uranium in the Rock Creek area, gravel mines around Vernon and coal bed methane close to Smithers and in the Cariboo. ‘I left my home on the Sunshine Coast where people are upset about their properties being staked for an aggregate Photo: John Wiznuk mine,’ said Carr. ‘Now, I’m finding Money Lake, Saturna Island, the reservoir for the Lyall Harbour/Boot Cove water system. Even though June was a wet month the people across the province are angry lake level is low, a month ahead of usual drawdown. about this same issue.’ Changes to mining regulations were quietly passed by the BC Liberal government without due debate in the Salmon mapping Ferry fares keep adding up Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act A pioneering study of the out-migration of juvenile Patrick Brown (Bill 54). Concerned landowners in salmon through Heiltsuk traditional territory on BC’s On June 22, BC Ferries received approval from the contribution to costs from the Province. Vernon, who met with Carr, call Bill 54 central coast is underway this May and June. The the Ferry Commissioner to implement its (see box, page 3). the ‘land theft act.’ Prior to this bill, Raincoast Conservation Foundation is leading this biggest fuel surcharge yet: 3.2% for the main The Commissioner has provided mining operations could not interfere project which will map migration routes and habitat routes, and 9.6% for the smaller routes. The projections of ferry fares up to the end of the with buildings on staked land. use of juvenile salmon and will enable coastal result: main route ferry fares are now 18% first ‘performance term’ in March 2008. Using ‘Bill 54 removed this last vestige of communities to make more informed decisions about more than when the ferries were ‘privatized’ in the same assumption, that the provincial protection for landowners. Now development in near-shore marine habitats. March 2003; fares on the smaller routes are contribution will not increase, he sees main property owners are left with only the ‘Given that industrial development is an now 36% more. route fares being 25% higher than the base year option to negotiate compensation if their imminent threat to wild salmon in this region, we The new increases are justified by 2003 rates, and smaller route fares being buildings are affected by mining need to find out what young salmon are doing in continuing increases in the price of fuel. nearly 50% higher. This, of course, assumes these near-shore habitats and what cues they are exploration or development. This Information provided by Ferry Commissioner that fuel oil prices do not further rise. They are using to move through this labyrinth of islands and removes people’s fundamental property Martin Crilly blames a new fuel supply contract currently around $100 Canadian per barrel channels,’ said Nicola Temple, Raincoast’s wild which changed the basis of pricing from rights,’ said Carr. (with West Texas Intermediate crude oil at $70 salmon program coordinator. Edmonton to Vancouver, an increase of 20% in US per barrel). ‘I’m shocked this could happen in Crews made up of biologists from Raincoast, staff the per-litre cost. Gulf Islanders who must use the smaller Canada,’ a retired rancher and of the Heiltsuk Fisheries Program, local community The fuel surcharges are expressed as a routes were set up for higher fare increases by entrepreneur, Sandy Boyd, told Carr at members and volunteers will sample fish from fifteen percentage of regular fares, which are the contract that the government wrote for her meeting in Vernon. Carr explained, inlets and channels, check them for health and themselves subject to regular increases under itself under the Coastal Ferry Act. The contract ‘People can’t understand how Canada parasite (sea lice) loads, and later conduct in-depth the contract put in place by the government fixed the government’s contribution to each of can send troops overseas to secure civil laboratory analyses and apply Geographic under the Coastal Ferries Act. Without the fuel the smaller routes for five years, and permitted liberties while the BC government is Information System (GIS) techniques to produce surcharges, fares on main routes would be a 4.4% annual increase in fares. Even without taking away their rights.’ maps of migration routes and habitat use. 109% of March 2003 levels, while on the the fuel surcharges, fares were destined to rise ‘People are justifiably angry,’ said Sea lice infection of juvenile salmon is a critical smaller routes they would be 114% of March 24% in the five year period to March 2008. Carr. ‘A Vernon teacher, Kurt issue in areas such as the Broughton Archipelago with 2003 levels, with another increase coming in In writing the contract, the government Yakelashek, explained that his property high densities of open-net cage salmon farms. November 2006. effectively insulated itself from any unexpected is his biggest lifetime investment. If a Collecting baseline data on parasite loads in fish farm Smaller Routes Pay More, cost increases. Neither the government nor BC gravel mine goes ahead as staked, it will free areas of the Great Bear Rainforest is a unique and More Ferry Services Inc., the government-owned ruin his privacy, wreck his land and private corporation that now operates the opportunity for comparison with more impacted The fuel surcharges are consistently higher for ferries, could have anticipated the run-up in oil devalue his property. After saving to buy areas. the smaller routes. On the main routes, says the prices that has occurred over the past three his land, his hope for a happy rural life is Chris Williamson, the project’s lead biologist, Commissioner, fares cover 100% of the costs, years. The government has, however, shown ruined,’ said Carr. further explained that, ‘The threat of northward fish there is no provincial government subsidy absolutely no interest in increasing its ‘People across the province are farm expansion makes it even more important to involved, and therefore fares go up at the same contribution to mitigate the almost 50% dismayed at the government’s move to understand the habitat requirements of salmon at all rate as costs go up. On the smaller routes, increase in fares that will have occurred by promote mining rights over people’s stages of their life cycle. This study combines habitat however, he says fares cover, on average, one- March 2008. property rights. It’s time to amend the use with sea lice monitoring, and it is building third of the costs, and therefore percentage fare Mining Act to prohibit claim staking on increases must be three times percentage cost SALMON MAPPING, please turn to page 2 FERRY FARES, please turn to page 3 private property in BC,’ concluded Carr. i increases, since there has been no increase in Page 2, ISLAND TIDES, June 29, 2006 Public interest compromised by public-private partnerships ~ Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives AT FULFORD HARBOUR r e c e n t closed-door conference between industry stands up to scrutiny is that they generate profit for industry. JUNE/JULY proponents and BC government officials promoting That’s not a good enough reason to pay more for something than ‘public-private partnership’ (P3), has people nervous. it's worth.’ Day Time Ht./ft. Ht./m. Day Time Ht./ft. Ht./m. A And a new study raises major concerns about higher costs and The study looks in detail at three BC case studies: the 0040 9.5 2.9 0645 3.6 1.1 lack of accountability in P3 infrastructure projects. Abbotsford Hospital, the Canada Line (RAV), and the aborted 27 0334 9.8 3.0 05 2306 10.2 3.1 Value for Money? Cautionary Lessons About P3s from District of Maple Ridge Core Project. ‘In all three cases, the value TU 1140 1.0 0.3 WE MA 2017 11.2 3.4 ME British Columbia was published by the Canadian Centre for for money reports used to justify the P3 option were not 0135 9.2 2.8 0719 3.0 0.9 Policy Alternatives. It examines how P3s have been used for produced by an independent third party, nor were they released 28 0416 9.5 2.9 06 1636 9.2 2.8 public infrastructure projects such as roads, transit and hospitals to the public before the contracts were final,’ says Murray. 1813 WE 1218 1.3 0.4 TH 9.2 2.8 in BC and internationally. It finds that: ‘Instead, the value for money reports were produced at the ME 2048 11.2 3.4 JE 2327 10.2 3.1 • P3s are being aggressively pursued in BC in spite of a lack of wrong time, by the wrong people, and with limited 8.9 0755 0.6 0232 2.7 2.0 evidence that they are a superior option. transparency.’ 29 0458 8.9 2.7 07 1708 9.8 3.0 TH 1254 2.0 0.6 FR 1948 9.8 3.0 • P3s are less cost-effective, timely and transparent than Murray says that ‘While P3s may be appropriate under some JE 2115 10.8 3.3 VE 2354 10.2 3.1 traditional government procurement.

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